Just got the news that am gettin 6 grand for my beloved defender 90 that was stolenbut cant decide what to replace it with, need a bike transporter, motorway blaster and light offroader i’m thinking freelander or a van or another defender ( ruled by the heart not the head on the last one ).

Any post 2004 freelander owners or any other suggestions

Volvo V70 XC
Subaru Forester
Audi A6 Allroad

Subaru Legacy

volvo and audi – only 26 and maybe a bit to old manish for me subaru as possibility but there a bit bloody ugly

Eh? WTF has your age got to do with driving a good car?

Allroad x2.

Get the 2.7T petrol one for more oomph / fun. The 2.5 TDi is quick enough, but with the price of diesel and the fairly poor MPG, the petrol would be a good bet – and probably cheaper too.

Edit – only 26, pimp it a bit.

Don’t get a Freelander unless you’re prepared to buy the Freelander 2.

Freelander 2 = Awesome
Freelander = Rubbish

flashheart- nothing i’m just a ponce. woof 😀
flaperon – are even the late freelander rubbish, have you owned or driven one?

What do you mean by light offroader? A lightweight offroader or a vehicle for light offroad use?

light offroad use

Get another defender fella, all the others are boring.

clunker dont tell me this please i want one but i’m doing more motorway miles and less offroad and sitting behind lorries on the motorway and being unable to hear the radio above 30mph is no good. God i loved my defender so much character 🙂 no i must not buy another defender should I?

Get one with a V8 under the bonnet 😆

What about a Hilux?

Decent offroad, acceptable at speed. Won’t break any records though, but should be a wee bit more refined than a defender.

Disco?

One of the Squadron has a Hilux Surf and it’s surprisingly good.

I still say throw of your shackles and get a V70XC, an Allroad, a Forrester or a Legacy Outback.

Just been told that i am not allowed another defender, hilux’s are quite expensive , you can get a 2005 freelander 40,50k milage for 6bags of sand or a 97 p reg 100k miles hilux.

disco, all the rot/ leaks with out the charm

Is a 4wd absolutley neccessary?

not absolutely but…

Considering the OP probably liked his Defender then a Disco or Freelander fits his bill (but go for the TD4 engine!). Otherwise a 2.0XT Forester would be my choice if I didnt already own a Forester 😀

I’ve had a couple of problems with mine but would still have another.

Aged hora.

yeah td4 was the only engine i would consider, hora what did you pay for the santa cruz

Clunker if you pay the rest of the balance.

I would also like a smart brabus roadster coupe but its too impractical

£200. I must admit I’ve always like the look etc of the Defender but then a friend let me have a go in one. It was a compromise on leg space, seating position and bloody ell it wallowed when cornering!! I thought I was steering a fishing boat not a vehicle 🙄

stop it

is that yours clunker, very nice

Get a Legacy – they’re huge, offroad ok and petrol is sooooo much cheaper than diesel now.

I always get carried away, sorry 😳

200 for a chameleon thats a bloody insult!!! you owe me 50 quid compo 😀

defenders are like a naughty puppy loads of problems but you cant help but love em

subaru seems quite popular but i think there pig ugly (sorry) suppose i wont see that from inside and its not like i need to go on the pull in it anymore

edit the legacy aint too bad i suppose.

looking forward to test drives this wkd

Doesn’t have to be an estate or one of those silly 4×4’s… 😈

If you must have AWD, you could buy a nice big saloon and a towbar bike rack. Predictably, that’s what I did. 😆

Someone above compares the 2.5 & 2.7 Audi diesels. I’ve had both. The 2.7 gives over 10mpg better fuel consumption than the 2.5 in my hands and is both more refined and pokier. Another advantage; chain driven cams. No bank busting 80k belt changes now 😉 I briefly considered the 3.0l but it only comes in AWD flavour which I thought unecessary for my driving.

I’d never buy a big 4×4 style (Landrover etc) vehicle for ‘normal’ driving. I couldn’t justify the low MPG and poor refinement/performance to myself. I’d have one if I lived somewhere that needed it or had a yen for green laning. Otherwise…

what are the running costs on audi/ subaru’s in terms of serviving/ fixing?

Subaru’s? As the dealer network is indistinct/small (they tend to stock more than one marque or dont have full corporate branding etc so… I think you can get away with Subaru Indie stamps on the service book. Its not as important (anywhere near Audi-levels IMO). I did have one ‘main dealer’ service- I rang up and said how much could they do a oil/filters service for- £100+VAT.

Stonemonkey, please try a Legacy or turbo Forester, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Mine pulls round roundabouts like a train on tracks. I went for a non-turbo as I prone to occasional silliness.

stonemonkey – Member
what are the running costs on audi/ subaru’s in terms of serviving

Relative to what? I can’t recall specifics but the 2.5 A6 I had was ~£150-~£200 for a minor service and ~£300-~£400 for a major at Audi. I always haggle with them and they invariable drop their menu driven price by a significant sum. Less than BMW/Merc but more than Ford etc. I think they are cheaper now. IIRC if you have a look on Audi’s website, they have servicing costs there.

I haven’t had the 2.7 serviced yet but expect it to be simlar in cost to its predecessor.

I have an Audi A6 and can confirm that the running costs are low compared to comparable vehicles. Audi variable service means you can go up to 30k miles, or around 20 months between services. Standard service was around £250 and I was doing 12k per annum between intervals at 18-19k miles and at around 20 months. No idea how you can get to 30k unless you are doing say 1000 miles a week. I get an average 55-60mpg too. Not bad for a big car.

My friend had a Discovery and never came away from the dealer with a bill less than £600. I’m sure the standard service was nowhere near as much as this, but there was always something going wrong.

Japanese cars (bat Nissan) are a good bet.

Spongebob – Member I get an average 55-60mpg too. Not bad for a big car.

Bloody hell twinkle toes, how do you get 55-60mpg? which engine, the 1.9tdi?

As a confirmed subaru person we have a Legacy GT (2008) and a 2005 2.5WRX. The legacy is beautiful to drive, soooo nice, very very comfortable, very very fast and swallows loads of gear and passengers. The WRX on the other hand rides like a concrete patio and goes round corners as fast as it goes on a straight line ! I love them, i had a 08 forester xt which was written off in a crash (rear ended at 70kmh while i was stationary). It probably saved my life being so solid. But i;d never buy another forester XT as it handled like a marshmallow and was not very useful as a road car and an offroad car – was a bit lost. The new shape, to me, is awful and so badly put together. I considered a new XT but when i drove it i realised that the magic has gone in the Forester for me – feels cheap, tinny and not grunty enough. Even the 2.0r Legacy (or 2.5r now) is awesome to drive.

Bloody ell Nzcol you are somewhat of a connoisseur. I’ve not driven a Legacy yet, how does it compare to a Imprezza? (if you’ve driven one).

Stonemonkey, if you have a rugged-mindset, why not buy another Defender?
I imagine your old one has been broken up now and its parts currently listed on Ebay 🙁

another heads up for a legacy – either standard estate or an outback if you want a bit of extra ground clearance.

i’ve driven my dad’s 2.0 04 plate many a time, and it’s just a superb car – very well made and very good quality materials.

i’ve always thought the servicing very reasonable for main dealers – a recent 60k major service with cambelt change was 400quid. it’s not needed anything other than standard servcing. oh, sorry, the alarm (sigma i think) unit needed replacing after the range of operation of the fobs went to about 3 feet – about £150. it’s even on it’s original brake pads/discs!

you’ll get a lot of car for your 6k.

should have mentioned, he had a forester (98 s-plate) before the leggy, and the legcay is in a completely different league – not that the forester is particularly bad for handling for what it does, but wow, the legacy is just driver focussed with great comfort and refinement for passengers…

i don’t work for scooby – just really like the legacy!!!